Drug Companies Bribing Doctors to Prescribe Unlawful Products

In 2011, some drug companies released information about the payments they
were providing doctors for their services. These companies have reportedly
spent about $761 million in disclosed payments to doctors - representing
only about 40% of the U.S. prescription drug sales, with hundreds of other
companies who have not and will not disclose their information.

Whether the payment comes in monetary fashion such as cash or a check,
or it's meals out and educational items to speak and consult about
for the companies, doctors are forming complex relationships with drug
companies that many believe tread a fine line.

Since 2010, ProPublica reporters, Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, have
been investigating these relationships and how the pharmaceutical companies
are having an unfortunate impact on the world of medicine. Drug companies
need the doctors to conduct research and clinical trials for them, and
they need the physicians to give promotional talks on their behalf and
for others to see that they stand behind the drugs. This image is what
pharmaceutical companies need and what they will pay high dollar for.
This is cause for concern because many doctors can turn a blind eye and
violate many federal laws by promoting and prescribing dangerous medications.
Doctors have the power to legally prescribe drugs for any reason they
want, whether it is approved by the FDA or not. The pharmaceutical companies
use this to their advantage as much as they can leading to dangerously
compromising situations for patients who don't know who to trust.

Although Federal law prohibits companies rewarding doctors who prescribe
their products, this happens more often than not in other forms of payment.
Doctors must also follow the same rules as the companies and cannot promote
the product for uses not authorized by the FDA. With these regulations
in place, it is shocking to see how many undisclosed payments occur.

Patients should feel comfortable protecting themselves. With so many pharmaceutical
companies out there, countless pills on the market, and very able and
willing doctors who have no problem 'promoting' the drugs, patients
should be careful of any prescription drug they are given. Side effects
are always there, whether minimal or life altering, and every person reacts
differently.

Lately, in the world of pharmaceuticals, many have come to forget that.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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